The 10 Best Monitor Privacy Filters

We spent 45 hours on research, videography, and editing, to review the top choices for this wiki. Perfect for offices that deal in sensitive data or anyone who wants to keep what's on their laptop screen hidden, these privacy screens will keep clients' details and corporate information away from prying eyes. They allow anyone directly in front of the monitor to see it clearly, but will not let anyone view it from an angle. Most work as anti-glare and radiation filters, too.
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We spent 45 hours on research, videography, and editing, to review the top choices for this wiki. Perfect for offices that deal in sensitive data or anyone who wants to keep what's on their laptop screen hidden, these privacy screens will keep clients' details and corporate information away from prying eyes. They allow anyone directly in front of the monitor to see it clearly, but will not let anyone view it from an angle. Most work as anti-glare and radiation filters, too.
When users buy our independently chosen editorial picks, we may earn commissions to support our work.
Skip to the best monitor privacy filter on Amazon.

10. Belkin TrueClear F7P326bt

The Belkin TrueClear F7P326bt provides a high level of privacy and exceptional clarity that won't reduce the quality of HD screens. Since it can be installed and removed easily, it comes with a sleeve to protect it when not in use.

9. Vintez Widescreen

The Vintez Widescreen comes with adhesive strips and slide mounting tabs, so you can install it in whichever way you find most suitable. It also comes with a free e-book about how to protect yourself from identity theft and other computer safety measures.

8. PrivacyDevil PD

The PrivacyDevil PD is affordably priced, yet can still effectively obscure what is on your screen from unwanted viewing. It features a reversible design that allows you to mount it with the matte or glossy side out, depending on your preference.

7. Tech Armor ViewSonic

The further out from a 60-degree viewing angle a person is, the darker the Tech Armor ViewSonic appears until it eventually looks pitch black. It comes in models ranging from 21.5" to 28" and has an antireflective surface to be easy on your eyes.

6. Akamai Office Products AP156W9B

This Akamai Office Products AP156W9B is made specifically for 15.6" laptops, so you can rest assured it will fit yours. It is a relatively low cost, but highly functional, option that will keep unwanted eyes away from your work.

5. Tech Armor IDP9

The Tech Armor IDP9 is designed specifically for the iPad Pro, so you can keep your screen information private when trying to get work done on a plane or in any other public area. It doesn't hinder your device's touchscreen capabilities, either.

4. 3M GF Series

Unlike many other options, which just make your monitor look dark to people viewing from an angle, the 3M GF Series casts the screen in a vivid golden glow to prying eyes, so you can be flashy and still keep your data safe.

3. Kensington Snap2

It's quick and easy to install or remove the Kensington Snap2. It snaps onto the top of your monitor in mere seconds, plus it comes in a variety of the most popular desktop monitor sizes from 17 to 24 inches, and in standard and widescreen models.

2. Eleplace Anti-Glare

The Eleplace Anti-Glare displays a crystal clear image to you without blurring anything that is on the screen. It comes with an installation kit that gives you two mounting options, one permanent and one removable, so you can take it off when no one is around.

1. 3M PF Series

If you need extreme screen protection from prying eyes, the 3M PF Series is a good option. From straight on, the screen looks bright and easy to read, but is obscured from any angle to keep sensitive information secure. It is available to fit almost any monitor size.

How A Privacy Screen Works

Privacy screens are designed to appear transparent when one is looking at them straight on, and opaque when viewed from different angles. Privacy screens are a form of monitor filters, which prevent light from reflecting off of a glass screen. Most make one’s screen appear black from an angle, but some emit a bright color, while still covering up the content on the computer. They are usually made from polycarbonate or acrylic plastic with an anti-glare coating and use angled slats or panels to achieve the desired effect.

Privacy screens can attach directly to your computer in various ways. Some cling onto the screen like a magnet, some have parts that can snap directly onto the top or side of your computer, and some come with installation kits so you can permanently mount the privacy screen.

Many screens have both a glossy and a matte side, the latter of which is ideal for working environments where people sit nearby and the users don’t want to disturb them with the glare from their screen. Professionals who have confidentiality agreements with their clients, like doctors and psychiatrists, benefit from screens that appear entirely black from an angle to ensure their patients privacy and safeguard themselves from any legal repercussions from leaking sensitive patient data.

Documents That Should Always Be Kept Private

Since portable laptops have become commonplace, so has doing personal business in public areas. People often do everything from banking to paying medical bills while sitting at a coffee shop, but it is important one remembers that nobody filters the customers in these places, and anybody can see what they’re doing. Most people don't take the proper steps to securing and organizing important documents.

If one has to complete confidential computer work in a public space, a privacy screen is critical. When filling out a loan application, people are usually asked to fill out several valuable pieces of information like their social security number and income bracket. If anybody who is looking on sees that a person has a high-income bracket, they may target them for theft and burglary.

Covering up medical bills and other health-related documents is also important. People should be wary when filling out forms for health or life insurance policies when others are around. If an onlooker sees that somebody has an expensive life insurance policy, they may prey on that individual, hoping to get into their close circle of friends and family so they can be put in the will. Even when paying a medical bill one should take pains to cover up their computer screen. If a criminal sees that a person suffers from a condition, they may try to scam them into paying enormous amounts of money to a fake doctor who promises help.

People looking for a new home to lease should keep that fact private. Rental scams are some of the most prominent today, and if someone sees a person looking to lease a home, they might approach and pretend to have a property available. These fake renters require enormous application fees and deposits for properties that do not exist. Even going on social media without covering one’s computer screen can be dangerous. From one’s Facebook page, onlookers can determine information like the name of their children. From there, a con artist can pretend to have a child in the same school as another person, and press them for additional information.

Additional Steps To Securing One's Data

Anyone with sensitive files on their computer should take extra precautions in addition to purchasing a privacy screen to protect their data. Many popular applications such as Microsoft Office and Adobe Acrobat allow users to put passwords on documents so no one can read them who isn’t intended to. For added protection, people can download encryption software that scrambles data in a document, and only unscrambles it if a person presses a specific series of keys.

It’s also possible to hide one type of data inside of another. This process is called steganography and there are special programs that accomplish it. One could hide an MP3 file inside of a text file, so someone looking through their computer for the data won't know where to search. Anyone concerned about private files should put password protection on their home screen and set their computer to go to sleep after a few minutes of inactivity. Anyone else hoping to use it will need to know the password just to access the desktop.

People who regularly send files to outside networks should use Internet Protocol (IP) Security. This protects files in transit, including ones that the user receives. Anytime someone sends a file to another computer, their data becomes vulnerable to hackers so IP Security can prevent privacy breaches. Those concerned with copyright infringement should use rights management services, which let the user control what the recipient can and cannot do with the file, like edit or alter it.

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A wandering writer who spends as much time on the road as behind the computer screen, Brett can either be found hacking furiously away at the keyboard or perhaps enjoying a whiskey and coke on some exotic beach, sometimes both simultaneously, usually with a four-legged companion by his side. He hopes to one day become a modern day renaissance man.

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